Christmas Village
by dwparsnip
Summary: Jennifer is a little homesick and Rodney figures out a way to ease the pain.


Well, I've never been to the US let alone Chippewa Falls. Everything I've described I got from the net, so if I'm in error about anything, I apologize. :)

MGM owns SGA.

Unbeta'ed and a bit rushed, so all boo boos are mine.

Merry Christmas to everyone.

* * *

0321.

Jennifer stifled the sigh that had been forming for the last ten minutes and turned away from the clock to look up through the dim light at the unexciting ceiling. She'd been in bed for nearly four hours, laying on her back with the blankets pulled up to her chest with her hands folded together on her stomach and still hadn't managed to get a single wink of sleep. She just couldn't get her mind to settle or the thick fog of depression to leave her heart.

And she couldn't figure out why.

Jennifer closed her eyes and tried to slowly edge into sleep, but a minute later her eyes flew open and she screamed in frustration- in her mind at least. She gently shook her head in self-derision and thought about how ludicrous her current malaise was: she was in a nice warm bed, laying next to a man she'd fallen so deeply in love with that it was amazing and who adored her, in their quarters in the lost city of Atlantis in another galaxy.

It was the stuff that fairy tales were made of, and she wondered just how many women on Earth would gladly trade places with her in a heart beat.

She felt the bed shift beneath her as Rodney rolled over and smiled when his right hand touched her hip and then slid up and onto her flat stomach.

"Why aren't you asleep?" his groggy voice asked.

Jennifer turned her head and looked at Rodney. His hair was sticking off in all directions, his left eye was shut tight and his right eye was cracked open just enough to be able to see her. Her left hand moved down a couple of inches to cover his and she couldn't stop the sigh any longer. "Can't get to sleep."

"Something wrong?"

"No," she replied softly. "Go back to sleep."

His right eye closed all the way. "You sure."

Jennifer smiled lovingly as she replied, "I'm sure." She watched him for a moment and then she turned to regard her old friend the ceiling.

She'd only just barely started to contemplate her melancholy state once again when Rodney said, "What's wrong?"

She turned back to him and was surprised to find both his eyes opened to their usual width. She figured for sure he'd gone straight back to sleep, but those bright blue orbs were clearly visible and nearly shining in the low light. And they were staring right into her eyes trying to discern if something was wrong.

His left arm slid underneath him as he lifted his upper body upwards until it supported his weight, and a moment later he coughed to clear the sleepiness from his throat and he asked, "What's wrong?"

Jennifer gave him the loving smile he always seemed to bring out of her with the simplest of gestures. "Nothing."

Rodney gave her the look- narrowed eyes and slight frown- coupled with irritated sigh for good measure. "Jennifer, what's wrong?"

She gave his hand an affectionate- and she hoped reassuring- squeeze and she said, "I'm fine."

He looked past her to the clock and Jennifer knew what was coming.

"It's after three in the morning," Rodney said with a slight scowl, "and not only are you wide awake- after doing a twelve hour shift mind you and having complained, loudly I might add, that you were dead on your feet when you came home- but you're lying to me."

She felt the hot flush of embarrassment flood her cheeks at his accurate admonishment and was grateful for the dim light.

"It's nothing important," she clarified, but she knew it was a futile attempt to pacify him.

So when Rodney's hand gently slid upwards until his hand cupped her cheek and his eyes- now void of drowsiness and irritation and filled only with concern and love- searched into hers, she felt completely justified in considering herself the luckiest woman alive.

"What's wrong?"

Jennifer smiled gratefully at him and her hand moved up to rest on his forearm as she closed her eyes and cuddled her face against his hand. "I miss home, I think."

"Okay," said Rodney, and she knew from his tone of voice that he didn't get it.

"I can't stop thinking about Chippewa Falls," she explained as she looked up into his eyes again, "and what happens this time of year." She stopped and her mind was flooded with memories of her hometown and how Christmas was celebrated. "My dad and I would go to Irvine Park where they have the Christmas Village. It's so beautiful with all the lights and displays, Rodney." Jennifer knew her voice had become childlike and dreamy, but she didn't care. "Dozens and dozens of displays with thousands of lights…it was always so magical, and no matter what was going on it always made me feel so good. Sometimes we'd walk through the village and other times we'd take the horse drawn wagon ride." She sighed longingly, then shrugged and gave Rodney a sheepish smile. "I'd do anything to see it right now."

Rodney's nod was a little unsure, like he knew what she was saying and understood, but he didn't know what to say. And what could he say really? Still, as was usual with Rodney, actions were louder than words, and he proved it once again as his hand edged down onto her shoulder and slid down her arm until he was holding her hand once again.

"I don't know why it's bothering me so much this year," she said with a bit of a huff. "It hasn't in previous years, but for some reason it just, I don't know, I can't stop thinking about it."

Rodney nodded slowly and then said, "Well, maybe it's because Sheppard…"

'Medical emergency. Dr. Keller to the infirmary STAT.'

Jennifer spared only a second to give Rodney a quick kiss before leaping out of bed and getting dressed, and then didn't even hesitate to say goodbye as she headed out the door. When she saw the corridor was clear, she broke into a light jog until she reached the nearest transporter which took her within a few meters of the Infirmary.

Visions of horses, sleighs, Christmas and displays that were beautiful and so bright that they not only lit up their immediate area but her heart, played in her mind as she moved to the entrance to her realm. Yet as soon as she crossed the threshold of the Infirmary, those images ceased to flow to allow her to focus on her job.

* * *

Six hours later Jennifer tore the latex gloves from her hands and wearily clawed at the surgical mask that had been covering her face for far too long. When the offending mask finally moved to let her breathe some fresher air, she sighed. It had been a long and complicated surgery, but she had no doubt that Lieutenant Brittles would pull through just fine.

Jennifer peeled the surgical scrubs off her tired and aching body and blanched at the smell that immediately assailed her nose.

_I desperately need a shower,_ she thought as her hand moved up to cover her mouth as she yawned. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs. _And that's what I get for not getting any sleep last night._

Her hand moved from her mouth onto the back of her neck and she rubbed the knotted up muscles there as she made her way out of surgery and into the main area of the Infirmary where she found Dr. Cole looking at her expectantly.

Jennifer's hand fell down to her side as she approached Cole and filled her in on the surgery. After making sure her staff was up to speed on Brittles, Jennifer made her way to the transporter and then to her quarters. She was so wiped that she was making the trip on autopilot, only barely noticing her surroundings and the fact there was a note on the bed as she made a beeline for the bathroom and her overdue date with the shower.

* * *

Jennifer stared at the note in her hands and read the neatly typed text out loud once more. "Please meet me in room HR1 at 1000 hours. Rodney."

Jennifer looked to the clock and dashed for the door when she saw it was 0948. She rushed along the corridor towards the transporter and when the door slid open to admit her she stopped dead in her tracks. _Where is HR1?_ she asked herself. She looked to the luminescent panel in the transporter and found no help there. She thought for a moment and then decided the best course of action would be to go to the Control Room and get directions from Chuck or Amelia. She pressed the blinking dot on the panel that represented the Control Room and the door whooshed closed, only to slide open a moment later just outside the Control Room.

Jennifer made her way into the Control Room and headed for Chuck's station. The gate tech looked up and when he noticed she was heading towards him he stopped whatever it was he had been doing and waited for her.

"Hello, Dr. Keller," he said with a smile. "Can I help you with something?"

Something about Chuck's smile was off, almost like he knew something she didn't, but she cast the thought aside as paranoia and smiled as she said, "Actually, there is. Can you tell me where room HR1 is? It's the first I've ever heard of it."

_Okay,_ thought Jennifer warily as Chuck nearly began bouncing in his seat. _What's going on?_

"Not a problem, Doctor," replied Chuck, his smile having disappeared and his face set in its usual friendly demeanor. "As a matter of fact," he rose from his chair and motioned for the other tech on duty to cover for him, "I'll take you there myself."

"That's not necessary, Chuck," Jennifer said a little too hastily. She gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sure I can find it myself."

"I'm sure you could," replied Chuck as he motioned for her to follow him. "But believe me, I don't mind."

Jennifer followed Chuck through the Control Room and into the corridor next to Mr. Woolsey's office. They walked down the corridor for a minute in silence, which was incredible to Jennifer because she wanted to ask Chuck where they were going with every step her feet made.

Finally they stopped outside a larger than normal door, and Jennifer looked from the door to Chuck- whose lips were forming an odd smile- and back to the door.

When she gave herself a second to think about it, Jennifer had never been in this room, though she'd passed it a number of times on the way to Woolsey's office. She simply stood there staring at the door until she turned to regard Chuck when he started to speak.

"It's the hologram room," explained Chuck. "It wasn't used very much because of the massive amount of power it uses, but that isn't a problem anymore." Chuck glanced at the door and then looked back at her. "He's been in there a while."

Before she could say anything Chuck passed his hand over the sensor and the door slid open. She looked at Chuck, who nodded for her to go in, and then slowly walked into the room. It was a big room with a podium off to the left. She heard the door slide shut behind her and then turned to her right when she heard a noise.

"Rodney?"

He looked up from the wall panel he'd been working on and smiled widely. "Great! You're here!" He slammed the panel shut, picked up the tablet that had been resting at his feet and stood up. He looked at the tablet and pressed it a few times and then started walking towards her. "Your timing is," he stopped and gave her a quick kiss on her right cheek and then kept walking, "impeccable."

Jennifer turned and watched Rodney stop at the podium. He looked to his tablet and then to the podium, nodded once in satisfaction and turned to face her. He motioned to the podium with his left hand and said, "Step on."

When she didn't immediately move or respond verbally, Rodney gave her a good natured scowl and walked over to her. He took her hand in his and led her to the podium and gently nudged her onto it.

She barely had the words, "Rodney what are you doing?" out of her mouth before the room went dark. Fear instantly tried to envelop her, though she managed to keep it at bay using Rodney's hand, which was still holding hers, as an anchor.

"Wait for it," his voice whispered close to her ear. "Trust me."

Jennifer relaxed, her trust in him complete and his presence all she needed. She waited and a moment later she gasped as lights appeared before and coalesced into an image of the entrance to Irvine Park.

The image shifted towards her as though she were walking into the park. She turned to her right as the image moved and saw the small billboard that had the map of the village on it. She looked forward again and found herself facing an obscenely large Christmas tree, decorated beautifully with white lights, large gold and red bows and topped off with a brightly lit star.

"How did…when…" Jennifer stammered, her thoughts jumbled and rendered incoherrent by the unexpected sight before her.

An image of a life sized Santa and Mrs. Claus decoration shook her out of her amazed stupor and she stepped off the podium, ending the show and returning the room to its usual lighting mode.

She looked to Rodney and he shrugged as nonchalantly as Rodney McKay could. "It was only a matter of having the computer scan the pictures I got from our database and programming the emitters." He shrugged again. "It wasn't that difficult really."

Jennifer studied Rodney for a moment, bringing to bear all of her medical expertise and her experience in observing him as a friend and lover: it all led to one conclusion.

"You've been at this all night, haven't you?" she said softly as she searched his blue eyes.

"Not all night," he said cryptically, but Jennifer knew the truth. She knew without a doubt that he was out of bed and formulating a plan before she'd even reached the Infirmary.

"I can't believe you did all of this for me," she said as she reached her arms up and circled his neck.

His hands slipped around her waist as he said, "I just…wanted you to be happy."

Jennifer drew Rodney's lips to hers and gave him a sweet and gentle kiss. When she looked into his eyes after that beautiful kiss she smiled and said, "You have no idea how happy you make me." Her smile widened as a look of pride and love came over Rodney's face. "But there is one more thing you can do to make me even happier."

"What?" he asked, one of the few times she'd heard him so baffled.

Jennifer released Rodney and stepped over to the podium. She reached out her left hand and said, "Walk with me."

Rodney's smile was as wide as her own. They both stepped onto the podium and her hometown Christmas wonderland came to life again, and as Rodney's arm went around her shoulders enveloping her in a warm and loving embrace, Jennifer knew that her happiness would forever be tied to him.

Merry Christmas to all.


End file.
